Let’s face it: there’s a good chance Felix Hernandez will end his Mariners career never having won a postseason game.

The Mariners are set to finish in last place in the AL West for a third straight season and for the seventh time in nine years. They haven’t gone to the playoffs once in the 10 years since Hernandez was signed as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela, and it seems doubtful that they’re going to get there next year.

We’ve reached the point that it probably makes sense for the Mariners to trade Hernandez. Fortunately, his trade value will still be near its peak this winter. The free agent class includes only one elite starter, Zack Greinke, and there are question marks about him as far as how he’d fare in the spotlight. The next best starter available is probably Edwin Jackson, unless you’re a big Anibal Sanchez or Ryan Dempster fan.

Hernandez is signed for two more years at a total of $39.5 million after this one. That’d not exactly a bargain, but he’d probably command $27 million-$30 million per year as a free agent, and the team that acquires him would get a big head start in signing him to an extension. He’s worth several top prospects, and the Mariners could definitely use some high-upside bats as they attempt to rebuild. The Rangers, Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox would all likely enter the bidding if Hernandez is made available. Hernandez is probably the one player out there for whom the Rangers would sacrifice shortstop Jurickson Profar, and he would be pretty much the perfect building block for the Mariners.

It’d be a shame to see Felix go, particularly given that he seems to enjoy Seattle, but the Mariners need much more than one ace if they’re ever going to challenge the AL West elite. They just might be able to turn Hernandez into three or four quality major leaguers, upping their odds for 2014 and beyond.